Tokkuri, Ochoko, and Ichigo: Sake Vessels, Measures, and Etiquette Explained

At an izakaya or a banquet table, the names of sake vessels and units can leave you guessing. Someone says "a tokkuri holds one go," and you have no idea how much that actually is. It's a common moment of confusion.

This article is a quick-reference guide to the vocabulary you'll run into when drinking sake: vessels, measures, and etiquette, in that order. Once you know the names and what they mean, you won't be caught off guard at a bar or a table again.

Sake vessels: names and how they're used

Sake vessels fall into two categories: those for pouring and those for drinking. Here's the full picture at a glance.

For drinking vessels, size and mouth width are the two things to weigh. An ochoko is built for taking small sips quickly. A guinomi has a wider rim, so you can take in the aroma as well as the flavor (per the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association's guide to sake vessels). A masu was originally a measuring tool, though today it doubles as a drinking vessel too.

The width of a vessel's rim shapes how aroma reaches you. Wide-mouthed vessels (guinomi, katakuchi, even a wine glass) let the floral notes of a ginjo-style sake (a premium grade brewed from rice polished to a higher degree) open up, while a narrow ochoko holds the aroma back and puts the focus on flavor. Temperature affects aroma too, so see Temperature and Storage for more.

Converting go, the four-go bottle, and issho

You only need two units: go and issho. The baseline is one issho; divide it by ten and you get one go.

For home drinking, the four-go bottle (720 ml) is the easiest size to manage. It fits in the refrigerator and is easy to finish before the flavor shifts. An issho bottle holds a lot more, so the sake inside is more likely to change character before you finish it. For how to store an opened bottle, see Temperature and Storage; for choosing a bottle size when you buy, see the Buying Guide.

When ordering, you can simply ask for sake by volume: "One go of sake, please." Add a temperature if you like: "warmed" (atsukan), "at room temperature" (hiya), or "chilled" (reishu). One go works out to roughly a wine glass and a half.

Pouring and receiving: general guidelines

Pouring etiquette varies by region, occasion, and generation. What follows are general guidelines, not a single fixed rule. Read the room and adjust.

When pouring, the customary form is to hold the tokkuri in your right hand and support it lightly with your left. If a companion's ochoko looks like it's running low, it's polite to offer a top-up. When receiving, it's considered good form to lift the cup in your hand rather than leave it sitting on the table. After being poured for, take a sip before setting the cup down.

Jishaku (self-pouring) means pouring for yourself. It's sometimes avoided at formal occasions but is generally fine in a casual setting. Henpai refers to the custom of returning the gesture, passing your cup back to whoever poured for you and pouring in return. There's no obligation to drain the cup; a sip is enough.

Kanpai and kenpai: celebration versus remembrance

The word "cup" carries different customs depending on the occasion: a celebration calls for different words and gestures than a memorial. It helps to keep the two clearly separate.

Kanpai is the toast used at celebrations and social gatherings: cups are raised high and voices join together. Kenpai, by contrast, is the toast used at a memorial service, offered to the deceased. At a kenpai, cups are not clinked together, voices are kept low, and there's no applause (per etiquette guidance from funeral service providers). When the chief mourner announces "kenpai," the custom is to echo the word quietly and take a small sip. Mistaking the tone of the occasion is considered a real faux pas, so it's worth confirming first whether the occasion is a celebration or a memorial. For more on how sake threads through Japanese life, see Sake and Culture.

Janome kikichoko: the vessel for judging color and clarity

The cup used for professional sake tasting (kikizake, evaluating a sake's quality by color, aroma, and flavor) is called the janome kikichoko.

A kikichoko is a white porcelain cup with a set of dark navy concentric circles painted on the inside bottom, the pattern that gives it the name janome ("snake's eye"). The white surface makes it easy to judge the sake's color and depth of tone, while the navy rings help you check its clarity and whether it's cloudy. Navy is used, according to explanations from brewers such as Sawanotsuru, because its cool tone makes it easier to spot the yellowing that develops as sake ages.

Aroma is described with two distinct terms: the scent that rises before you drink is called uwadachika ("top note"), and the scent that reaches your nose after the sake is in your mouth is called fukumika ("in-mouth aroma"), terminology from Japan's National Research Institute of Brewing. For a deeper look at how to read aroma and flavor, see Taste and Aroma.

Three points to remember when in doubt

If you're ever unsure at the table, these three points will cover you.

• Vessels split into pouring vessels (tokkuri, katakuchi) and drinking vessels (ochoko, guinomi, sakazuki, masu)
• Volume converts across three sizes: one go (180 ml), a four-go bottle (720 ml), and one issho (1.8 L)
• The occasion sets the toast: kanpai for celebrations, kenpai for memorials. Treat the etiquette as a guideline and read the room

The things most worth avoiding: clinking cups at a kenpai, pressing sake on someone who doesn't want it, and leaving a cup sitting on the table after being poured for. Steer clear of those three and you won't go far wrong.

Once you know the names and what they mean, vessels and units stop being an obstacle, and you can simply enjoy the cup in front of you.

• This article is intended for readers of legal drinking age (20 in Japan). Please drink responsibly. Avoid alcohol during pregnancy or breastfeeding, and never drink and drive.